the atlantic world and virginia, 1550–1624 QW Published for the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Virginia, by the University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill The atlantic world and virginia, 1550–1624 edited by peter c. mancall QW The Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture is sponsored jointly by the College of William and Mary and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. On November 15, 1996, the Institute adopted the present name in honor of a bequest from Malvern H. Omohundro, Jr. © 2007 The University of North Carolina Press All rights reserved Designed by Rich Hendel Set in Monticello type by Tseng Information Systems, Inc. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Atlantic world and Virginia, 1550–1624 / edited by Peter C. Mancall. p. cm. Essays from an international conference entitled The Atlantic world and Virginia, 1550–1624, held in Williamsburg, Va., Mar. 4–7, 2004 Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn-13: 978-0-8078-3159-5 (cloth : alk. paper) isbn-13: 978-0-8078-5848-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Virginia—History—Colonial period, ca. 1600–1775—Congresses. 2. America—History—To 1810—Congresses. 3. Great Britain—Colonies— America—History—16th century—Congresses. 4. Great Britain—Colonies— America—History—17th century—Congresses. 5. Europe—Colonies—America— History—Congresses. 6. Acculturation—America—History—Congresses. 7. Virginia—Ethnic relations—History—16th century—Congresses. 8. Virginia— Ethnic relations—History—17th century—Congresses. 9. America—Ethnic relations—History—16th century—Congresses. 10 America—Ethnic relations— History—17th century—Congresses. I. Mancall, Peter C. II. Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture. f229.a875 2007 975.5'02—dc22 2007000103 The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. This volume received indirect support from an unrestricted book publications grant awarded to the Institute by the L. J. Skaggs and Mary C. Skaggs Foundation of Oakland, California. cloth 11 10 09 08 07 54321 paper 11 10 09 08 07 54321 preface ThecontentsofThe Atlantic World and Virginia, 1550–1624, had their ori- gin in an international conference of the same title, held in Williamsburg, Virginia, March 4–7, 2004. The intention of the conference and this re- sulting volume is to commemorate the four hundredth anniversary of the Jamestown settlement by approaching it from current historical perspec- tives on the encounters, collisions, and collaborations of peoples and politi- cal entities in North and South America, Africa, and Europe in the period surrounding contact between the inhabitants of Tsenacommacah and En- glishmen. The Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture orga- nized the program. Recognizing the importance of adding an intellectual component to the mix of Jamestown commemorative events, Gillian Cell, then-provost of the College of William and Mary, endorsed the undertaking and authorized the College’s financial backing. In addition, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American His- tory, the Reed Foundation, and the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities sponsored the conference, along with the Institute. The support of these organizations made possible the convening of Native American tribal repre- sentatives from the Chesapeake region and scholars from Africa, Australia, Europe, and the Americas. The sponsors’ generous underwriting enabled the convocation of more than seventy participants and facilitated the atten- dance of about five hundred people at the public four-day event. In conceptualizing the conference, I envisioned a mosaic of groups, re- gions, individuals, and influences in play around the Atlantic that formed the backdrop for the establishment of Jamestown in 1607 and the years following to 1624 (at which point the Virginia Company lost the politi- cal struggle to retain its outpost on the James, inaugurating royal control over the colony). Published here is a collection of essays developed from the original presentations. The Atlantic World and Virginia’s premise is that reaching for a transnational vantage point can augment comprehension of the contacts between peoples from different continents and cultures and the resulting formations of new societies. Shifting forces and internal contests for political, economic, and cultural domination around the Atlantic litto- ral in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries shaped the context in which the events at Jamestown occurred. The timing of the settlement came at a transition point between an early Atlantic era of regional exchanges and a transatlantic system of merchant capital centered in the Americas and based on slavery and the plantation economy. Displacements of populations and consolidations of power in many places contributed to this transformation. For the local inhabitants of Tsenacommacah, perhaps the most remarkable sight was not the arrival of three ships but the strangers’ settling on an island the Paspaheghs deemed waste ground not fit for planting. The ex- changes and conflicts between the Powhatans and the English constituted a local story most immediately meaningful for the participants; ultimately, though, their encounters and Africans’ incorporation into their midst would have consequences for shaping the world in which we live. Most elusive to historical understanding is common people’s experiences, sometimes re- membered through oral traditions, often fragmented or lost to memory. Yet their quotidian existence is at the very core of the human story. Our grasp of others’ lives is always incomplete; our task is always to do better. At one time or another, nearly all the Institute staff played a role in the monumental undertaking of publicizing the conference, selecting the pro- gram, putting it into print, planning conference events, coordinating its lo- gistics, and preparing this volume. Ronald Hoffman’s directorial hand was there at every step of the way. He and Karen Ordahl Kupperman, Professor of History at New York University, were instrumental in shaping the confer- ence program, and he gave helpful input on papers for the volume. Beverly Smith and Sally D. Mason were crucial to the success of the conference. Mendy C. Gladden efficiently organized the conference papers into a set for the publication process. Daniel H. Usner, Jr., and three other outside read- ers gave expert and constructive advice on the essays, and Peter C. Mancall provided important critical guidance to the authors in revising their essays for the volume. Manuscript editor M. Kathryn Burdette has demonstrated her editorial mastery in honing the contributors’ prose, amassing the illus- trations, and integrating the pieces into a volume fit for print. The final product is a testament to the collective endeavor that went into its making. Fredrika J. Teute Editor of Publications Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture vi Preface contents Preface v Introduction Peter C. Mancall 1 part one: native american settings Tsenacommacah and the Atlantic World Daniel K. Richter 29 Between Old World and New: Oconee Valley Residents and the Spanish Southeast, 1540–1621 Joseph Hall 66 Escape from Tsenacommacah: Chesapeake Algonquians and the Powhatan Menace James D. Rice 97 part two: africa and the atlantic The Caravel and the Caravan: Reconsidering Received Wisdom in the Sixteenth-Century Sahara E. Ann McDougall 143 The Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic World David Northrup 170 Central African Leadership and the Appropriation of European Culture Linda Heywood and John Thornton 194 African Identity and Slave Resistance in the Portuguese Atlantic James H. Sweet 225 part three: european models The Multinational Commodification of Tobacco, 1492–1650: An Iberian Perspective Marcy Norton and Daviken Studnicki-Gizbert 251 Revisioning the ‘‘French Atlantic’’: or, How to Think about the French Presence in the Atlantic, 1550–1625 Philip P. Boucher 274 Kings, Captains, and Kin: French Views of Native American Political Cultures in the Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Centuries Peter Cook 307 Virginia’s Other Prototype: The Caribbean Philip D. Morgan 342 part four: intellectual currents Moral Uncertainty in the Dispossession of Native Americans Andrew Fitzmaurice 383 Discourses of Western Planting: Richard Hakluyt and the Making of the Atlantic World David Harris Sacks 410 Reading Ralegh’s America: Texts, Books, and Readers in the Early Modern Atlantic World Benjamin Schmidt 454 The Genius of Ancient Britain David S. Shields 489 part five: the atlantic world and virginia, 1550–1624 Imperfect Understandings: Rumor, Knowledge, and Uncertainty in Early Virginia James Horn 513 The Iberian Atlantic and Virginia J. H. Elliott 541 Virginia and the Atlantic World Stuart B. Schwartz 558 Conference Program 571 Index 575 Notes on the Contributors 595 the atlantic world and virginia, 1550–1624 QW The Atlantic World, ca. 1600. Drawn by Rebecca Wrenn This page intentionally left blank Peter C. Mancall introduction QW The local inhabitants of Tsenacommacah, the Paspaheghs, knew their en- vironment well. They used the best lands in the region for their home sites and fields, knew where to hunt and fish nearby, and eschewed swamp land since it attracted mosquitoes and could not be farmed. Hence, in the spring of 1607, they must have viewed askance the group